Saturday, March 5, 2016

Red Rock Canyon: Restoring Loaded Carry

For gun owners, Red Rock is a unique carve-out in Nevada
because it is the largest swath of land open to the public where carrying loaded
firearms is prohibited. The red rocks and sandstone cliffs of Red
Rock Canyon National Conservation Area that dominate the western skyline of
Las Vegas is a BLM-administered area, separate from the National Park System,
which does allow firearms. Long have
local gun owners bemoaned the outmoded regulations without attempting to solve
the problem. Congress won’t remedy this right on their own, but we can
ourselves.

Readers are aware that state law prohibits local and state
agencies from making their own firearm laws, including state parks, except for
regulation unsafe discharge of firearms. Some may be familiar with the change
to federal law under President Bush’s tenure that permitted firearms in
National Parks (including recreation areas like Lake Mead) as long as the
weapons are carried in accordance with state law.

Specifically, loaded firearms are prohibited in Red Rock.
Ammunition and magazines/clips cannot be on or in the weapon, except for legal
hunting as permitted. The excerpt regarding weapons is below, while the full Supplementary
Rules are here. The penalty is up to a $1000 fine and/or 12 months in federal
prison (43 CFR
8360.0-7).

How stupid is it that you can have a gun, and even carry it
on your person, but it has to be unloaded? The rules will not prevent a
criminal from carrying illegally or prevent illegal target shooting. There is
no benefit of this rule and the few seconds spent loading a gun could be the
few seconds that give a bad guy the advantage or allow a cougar to strike. On
top of that, it is immoral to effectively disarm the citizens who won’t carry at all because they don’t understand the
nuances of the law.

Basic firearm safety dictates a firearm should be handled as infrequently as possible. The best place for it is left alone in its holster. Loading and unloading a firearm introduces unnecessary variables that could lead to a negligent discharge. Creating the potential for an accident negates any alleged gains. Also, in a self-defense scenario when adrenaline is pumping, fine motor reaction is lost, making it more difficult to load and chamber a round before firing.

Legal basis

These rules were added shortly after Red Rock’s official
inception as an NCA. The supplementary rules for Red Rock were published in the
May 21st, 1993 edition of the Federal
Register, which is the federal government’s journal. Federal law allows the
interior secretary (via
the BLM’s state director) to make supplementary rules and orders for the
national conservation areas under his jurisdiction (43 USC § 1701).

Federal law is broken down into three main segments: The
United States Code (USC), roughly analogous to the Nevada Revised Statutes
(NRS); The Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR); and internal federal agency regulations, which are published in the
Federal Register. Agencies are authorized by Congress to make regulations in
their area of operation, such as the ATF’s various administrative rulings. Now
to make specific ‘park’ rules, based on the unique needs of the given area, the
BLM’s state administrator can make supplemental rules (43 CFR 8365.1-6),
as long as the public is given notice of the proposal and time to make comments.

Other places

No other federal ‘parkland’ in Nevada prohibits legally
carried self-defense weapons, loaded or unloaded, including the two other conservation
areas, Sloan Canyon (south of Henderson), and the Black Rock Desert. Sloan
Canyon is managed by the Southern Nevada BLM office, which manages Red Rock.

Only two other Conservation areas, the Wallace
Forest in Idaho and the San
Pedro Riparian area in Arizona, have firearm possession prohibitions. Both
are outdated as well (2000 and 1989, respectively). Even in California, the
‘Lost Coast’ conservation area allows loaded open carry under that state’s
quirky carry laws. As mentioned earlier, National Parks and Wildlife Refuges
allow firearms in accordance with state law (§ 512. pg. 31 “Credit CARD Act of 2009”),
though guns are still prohibited inside federal facilities (18 USC § 1930).

How to remedy

The public should be allowed to carry firearms loaded for
self-defense, not just in light of the Second Amendment, but because of the
dangers inherent in today’s world. One should not be forced to be disarmed or
carry a ‘neutered’ unloaded gun because of an outdated regulation. Heaven
forbid anyone is attacked by a cougar or coyote, not to mention potentially
being the victim of a crime at, or to/from, Red Rock. The right to loaded
self-defense should not disappear because someone crosses an invisible line
into a wild desert park. There is nothing inherent in Red Rock that makes visitors
any less susceptible to danger.

Taking into consideration the state laws of Nevada and no
prohibition on other federal recreational lands, Red Rock’s loaded gun ban is an
anachronism. 1993 was a different time in America. Handgun ownership and
self-defense carry was not nearly as popular as today and “shall issue”
concealed weapon permit laws had yet to come to Nevada and sweep across the
nation. As more and more people recognized the need for self-defense weapons
and the attitudes in the country have changed, it is time that unusual,
out-of-touch regulation disappear.

The rules are not federal law and do not require legislation
to change, which would be a pipe dream with the current president. Rather, a
gentle campaign of public pressure through petitioning the state director John
Ruhs to amend the Supplemental Rules to allow loaded firearms to be carried for
self-defense. Additional support could be sought from Nevada’s republican
Congressional delegation (the Democrats probably wouldn’t agree).

Public pressure can change things. It may be as simple as a
few nice, well-written letters. Imagine if thousands of Nevadan gun owners,
hikers, bikers, and concerned citizens petitioned the BLM to restore their
right to effective self-defense?

Notwithstanding the supplementary rules, 43 CFR 8365.1-7 says
that state still law applies, meaning that Nevada’s concealed carry laws and
lack of an open carry prohibition or ban on loaded handguns in cars would not be
illegal. So there is recognition of state
law already in place, though not as specific as one would hope.

Temporary
closure orders for events such as Burning Man would probably require some
sort of federal preemption legislation, but given the highly specific nature,
limited duration, and legitimate concerns (hippies+drugs+guns=bad idea) make
this a more palatable exception rather than an outdated blanket prohibition on
loaded firearms.

We are asking for a small change to the law to bring Red
Rock in conformity with other federal areas and the rest of Nevada. We are not
asking to allow target shooting with its attendant trash and safety problems.

There will always be the leftists (often involved in
environmental and outdoors groups) and anti-gunners who will ill-rationally
protest the restoration of gun rights, but rights and truth win over hype and
lies any day. On top if it all, guns are already allowed in Red Rock, just
unloaded. Many practice ‘California open carry’ where the pistol is on one hip,
the magazine on the other, and can be loaded in an emergency with a quick
reload and rack of the slide. The unloaded guns haven’t hurt anyone or the
wildlife; why would loaded guns make any difference?

5 comments:

Requiring your normally-carried sidearm to be unloaded while at Red Rock means that the loaded firearm has to be unloaded before arrival and reloaded after leaving. What gun safety training did these administrators take that makes them think that is a safe thing to do, probably being done in an automobile. This is just idiotic. The safest place for a sidearm at all times is in its holster, never being handled until such a time as it is needed.

Additionally, requiring unloaded carry for a self-defense sidearm is unsafe if that firearm were to ever be needed. Regardless of the extra time involved, it would be a very stressful time and the risk of causing a malfunction or worse is greatly increased.

I contacted BLM last week about this and spoke with very polite officer. He said that due to Obama's signing of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 into law, carrying a "loaded" firearm in Red Rock is perfectly legal. The following is an excerpt from that Act...

"(b) PROTECTING THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUALS TO BEAR ARMS IN UNITS OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM AND THE NATIONAL WILD- LIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.—The Secretary of the Interior shall not promulgate or enforce any regulation that prohibits an individual from possessing a firearm including an assembled or functional firearm in any unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System if—(1) the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm; and(2) the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the State in which the unit of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System is located."

Since open/concealed carry is legal (concealed with a ccw permit) in Nevada WITH a round in the chamber and a magazine attached, it would seem to follow that the officer is 100% correct and that it is also legal to do so in Red Rock. Can anyone confirm this to be accurate? I'm planning a trip to Red Rock and would like to carry loaded while there without breaking any laws...

Unfortunately he was mistaken (though we're not going out of our way to inform anyone). That exemption only applies to National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service administered lands, not National Conservation Areas which are managed by the BLM as Red Rock is. These BLM regulations are old very limited in scope, which leads to confusion. The Credit CARD Act did not affect Red Rock.

Dang it. Stupid laws that make no sense. On a side note, it was interesting to learn how the pro gun part of the Credit CARD Act was tagged onto a completely unrelated issue and got signed into law. Maybe the only pro gun legislation Obama ever endorsed?